Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 6.4% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Down 6.4% — Salesforce shares fell to about $182.65 on Tuesday on heavy volume (~18M shares, +40% vs. average), driven by renewed AI/sector jitters, a correlated selloff with ServiceNow and a price-target cut from Northland.
• $25 billion buyback and dividend increase — The company beat quarterly EPS expectations ($3.81 vs. $3.05), set FY27 guidance of 13.110–13.190 EPS, authorized a $25.0B share repurchase (up to ~14.1% of stock) and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.44.
• Analyst view: Moderate Buy — Wall Street consensus is a "Moderate Buy" (26 Buys, 11 Holds) with an average target of $280.21, though several firms have trimmed near-term price targets.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 6.4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $182.29 and last traded at $182.6470. Approximately 17,993,764 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 40% from the average daily volume of 12,866,622 shares. The stock had previously closed at $195.18.

Key Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management has expanded share repurchases—Salesforce is executing a large, debt-funded buyback program intended to support EPS and signal confidence amid the pullback. These 3 Beaten-Down Stocks Just Announced Massive Share Buybacks
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are still constructive overall—consensus sits around a "Moderate Buy," indicating institutional views are mixed-to-favorable despite recent weakness. Salesforce Inc. Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Product momentum: Agentforce for small business is now integrated into Salesforce Suites, supporting ARR growth and AI-driven upsell potential. Agentforce for Small Business is Now Built Into Salesforce Suites
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic messaging: Management’s FY27 guidance and Morgan Stanley presentation underline continued emphasis on premium SKU adoption and AI integration—positive long-term but not a short-term guarantee. What Salesforce, Inc. (CRM)’s FY27 Strategy Signals
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative view: Some analysts argue CRM’s valuation and earnings momentum give it an edge over peers like Datadog, which may limit downside if fundamentals hold. Salesforce vs. Datadog: Which Cloud Software Stock Has an Edge?
• Negative Sentiment: Sector/AI jitters triggered broad software selling—reports cite renewed investor anxiety that AI could disrupt incumbents, pressuring CRM alongside other software names. Salesforce and Other Software Stocks Are Plummeting as AI Jitters Return
• Negative Sentiment: Concurrent drop with ServiceNow highlights correlated risk across enterprise-SaaS names; market questions if both are being mispriced amid the selloff. ServiceNow and Salesforce Fall 5%: Is the Market Mispricing Both NOW and CRM?
• Negative Sentiment: Research/coverage update: Northland lowered its price target on CRM, a near-term negative that can amplify selling pressure. Northland lowers PT on Salesforce (CRM) stock

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $280.21.

Salesforce Stock Down 6.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company's 50-day moving average price is $202.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $232.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.76. The company had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.18 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.96% and a return on equity of 15.38%. Salesforce's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.78 EPS. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 13.110-13.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.110-3.130 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 22.54%.

Salesforce declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the CRM provider to reacquire up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, Director Neelie Kroes sold 3,893 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.70, for a total transaction of $929,259.10. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,742,271.30. This represents a 34.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 2,570 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. The trade was a 23.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $285,000. Cornerstone Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,784,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $139,000. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 72,134 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $19,109,000 after purchasing an additional 4,329 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 103.6% in the 4th quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 2,400 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, founded in 1999 and headquartered in San Francisco, is a global provider of cloud-based software focused on customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise applications. The company popularized the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model for CRM and has built a broad portfolio of products designed to help organizations manage sales, service, marketing, commerce and analytics through a unified, cloud-first platform.

Core offerings include Sales Cloud for sales automation, Service Cloud for customer support, Marketing Cloud for digital marketing and engagement, and Commerce Cloud for e-commerce.

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